Glenda Jackson has been named best actress at this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, for her first screen appearance in 27 years. The award, voted for by journalists who write about television and radio, was for her role as Maud, a dementia sufferer, in BBC One’s adaptation of Emma Healey’s best-selling novel, Elizabeth Is Missing. [Read more…]

The radio and TV presenter, Moira Stuart, is to be honoured later this week at the 46th annual Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, chosen by journalists who write about television and radio and sponsored by Virgin Media. [Read more…]

BBC presenter Samira Ahmed, who recently won an employment tribunal ruling against the Corporation in a dispute over equal pay, has been shortlisted in this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) radio, audio and podcast awards, sponsored by Virgin Media. [Read more…]

Hugh Grant, Jodie Comer, Nicholas Parsons and Lauren Laverne
are among the winners at the 45th Broadcasting Press Guild Awards

Two BBC TV dramas have each won three prizes at this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, voted for by journalists who write about television and radio and sponsored by Virgin Media.

A Very English Scandal (BBC One), about the Jeremy Thorpe affair, has won the award for Best Single Drama/Mini Series and Hugh Grant, who played the former Liberal leader, was named Best Actor. Russell T Davies, who wrote the script from the book by John Preston, won the Best Writer award.

The glossy serial-killer drama Killing Eve (BBC America) has been voted Best Drama Series and its star Jodie Comer was named best actress. It also won the Best Online First/Streaming Award, having been shown as a BBC Three boxed set on BBC iPlayer, ahead of its transmission on BBC One.

The 45th BPG Awards lunch took place today at Banking Hall in the City of London, attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. (Full list of winners below). The BPG Awards – given only for work commissioned or produced in the UK – are highly prized by programme-makers because they are selected independently by TV and radio correspondents, critics and previewers.

Jake Kanter, BPG Chair, said: “These awards are now a 45-year-old institution, and we think they are the most democratic in the land. No tedious judging panels, no political lobbying, just a list of the best TV and radio shows of 2018, voted for by people whose job it is to write about TV and radio for a living. In fact, this year, we had a record number of votes, which is testament to the enduring qualities of the BPG and the brilliance of the output.

“Drama’s hot streak continued. We had killer antiheroes, political subterfuge, and dangerous trysts.

Elsewhere, five kids from Derry created history in Northern Ireland, two jokers went fishing and hooked an unexpected hit, and the retelling of one unthinkable murder shocked the nation all over again.”

Channel Four has won the award for Best Comedy with Derry Girls and BBC Two’s Mortimer and Whitehouse: Gone Fishing was named Best Entertainment programme. The Netflix drama Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, created by Charlie Brooker, won the BPG Award for Innovation. Brooker was there to accept his award, as were Bob Mortimer and Paul Whitehouse.

Stephen: The Murder that Changed a Nation (BBC One) was named Best Documentary Series and Grenfell (BBC Two) won the award for Best Single Documentary. Stephen Lawrence’s mother, Baroness Lawrence, and two members of Grenfell United, Karin Mussilhy and Kat Sladden collected their respective awards alongside the programme makers.

The Best of Multichannel Award, which goes to one of the non-PSB programmes shortlisted in the drama, documentaries, comedy and entertainment categories, went to the drama Patrick Melrose (Sky Atlantic).

Lauren Laverne was named Radio Broadcaster of the Year, for her work on BBC Radio 6 Music as well as Desert Island Discs and Late Night Woman’s Hour, both on BBC Radio 4.

The chair of the BPG radio jury, Julian Clover, said: “Our winner moves seamlessly between speech and music radio. She’s been tasked with presenting two of the big beasts of Radio 4… and, after presenting the mid morning show on BBC Radio 6 Music, her move to breakfast was described by one of our judges as a big step forward for the music content and a welcome step away from obligatory breakfast banter.”

The award for Radio Programme of the Year went to Tara and George, presented by Audrey Gillan (BBC Radio 4), which explores the lives of two people in their late forties who sleep rough in London. And the Podcast of the Year award went to Hip Hop Saved My Life with Romesh Ranganathan.

Among several special awards made by the BPG executive committee, sports presenter and football pundit Alex Scott won the Breakthrough Award for her work with BBC Sport and Sky Sports.

The BPG Chairman’s Award, chosen by this year’s BPG Chair Jake Kanter, recognised the impact of Big Brother on UK television. The citation said: “The reality TV behemoth gave rise to countless copycat formats and became a training ground for the industry’s top creatives, as well as making household names out of the likes of Dermot O’Leary & Davina McCall. It was a defining hit for Channel 4, gave a fresh lease of life to Channel 5 and proved its durability and value to producer EndemolShine Group.”

Nicholas Parsons CBE received the Harvey Lee Award for an Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting, and attended the lunch with members of his family. As previously announced, the award recognises his seven decades of TV and radio entertainment, and in particular his contribution to one of the BBC’s longest-running programmes, Just A Minute on BBC Radio 4, which he has chaired for over 50 years.

The Broadcasting Press Guild was founded in 1974 and has more than 150 members. They are journalists who specialise in covering television, radio and the media, and include critics, previewers, media correspondents and feature writers from national newspapers, broadcasters and leading trade journals and websites.

The invitation-only event at the Banking Hall in the City of London was sponsored by Virgin Media and attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. Details of the nominations, previous BPG awards and Virgin Media can be found at http://broadcastingpressguild.org, together with pictures, videos and a history of the Guild.

Harvey Lee – in honour of whom our Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting Award is named – was a leading light of the BPG, who died at the tragically early age of 41. The award for outstanding achievement has been given in his memory every year since every year since 1992. Previous winners are named on our website: http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/bpgawards/harvey-lee

This year’s BPG Awards are sponsored by Virgin Media, which offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline. Its interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones. It launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland. Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, with operations in more than 30 countries. www.virginmedia.com/tv

For more information about the Broadcasting Press Guild, please contact:

Best Single Drama/Mini-series
A Very English Scandal
A Blueprint Pictures production for the BBC and Amazon Studios

Best Drama Series
Killing Eve
A Sid Gentle Films Ltd production for BBC America, internationally distributed by Endeavor Content

Best Single Documentary
Grenfell
A Minnow Films production for BBC One
Best Documentary SeriesStephen: The Murder that Changed a Nation
An On the Corner production, in association with Rogan Productions, for BBC One

Best Entertainment
Mortimer & Whitehouse: Gone Fishing
An Owl Power TV production for BBC Two

Best Online First/ Streaming
Killing Eve
A Sid Gentle Films Ltd production for BBC America, internationally distributed by Endeavor Content and first streamed in UK on BBC Three as a box set on BBC iPlayer

Best Comedy
Derry Girls
A Hat Trick Productions production for Channel 4

Best of Multichannel
Patrick Melrose
A Two Cities production in association with Sunnymarch and Little Island for Sky Atlantic and Showtime

Radio Broadcaster of the Year
Lauren Laverne
BBC Radio 6 Music, Late Night Woman’s Hour and Desert Island Discs, BBC Radio 4

Radio Programme of the Year
Tara and George
A Falling Tree Productions production for BBC Radio 4

Radio and TV presenter, Nicholas Parsons CBE, who has entertained audiences for more than 70 years, is to be honoured later this week at the 45th annual Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, sponsored by Virgin Media. The actor and gameshow host has presented Radio 4’s Just A Minute for over 50 years and hosted ITV’s Sale of the Century for 12 years.

On Friday 15 March, Parsons will receive the Harvey Lee Award for Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting.

Nicholas Parsons began his career on radio in the 1940s, as an impersonator on the Carroll Levis Discoveries talent show. As an actor, he appeared on the West End stage, in repertory and in films. One of his first television appearances was in an episode of ITV’s The Adventures of Robin Hood, playing Sir Walter of the Glen. In the 1960s, he became known to millions of viewers as the straight man to comedian Arthur Haynes, a partnership which ran for ten years, including appearances at the London Palladium and on The Ed Sullivan Show. He later appeared regularly on The Benny Hill Show.

On December 22nd 1967, Nicholas Parsons hosted the first edition of Just A Minute on BBC Radio 4, a role he has carried out ever since, missing just one recording (when he had flu). In 1971, he also became host of the ITV gameshow Sale of the Century, which he presented for 12 years. Other broadcasting highlights have included appearances in The Comic Strip Presents (Channel 4), Doctor Who (BBC One) and hosting Have I Got News For You (BBC One).

The BPG’s chairman, Jake Kanter, said: “Our Harvey Lee award winner is being recognised for seven decades of TV and radio entertainment, and in particular his contribution to one of the BBC’s longest-running programmes. Panelists have come and gone, the gamesmanship and gags have evolved, but Nicholas Parsons remains in the hot seat at the centre of it all. His warmth, sharp wit, and clear-headed determinations in rooms full of fast-talking show offs have kept him at the top of his game.”

The BPG Awards are highly prized by programme-makers because they are selected independently by journalists who write about TV and radio – correspondents, critics and previewers. The awards lunch, at Banking Hall in the City of London on Friday, will be attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. www.broadcastingpressguild.org

For more information about the Broadcasting Press Guild, including a full list of winners over the past 45 years, and see pictures and videos from previous BPG awards ceremonies at:

The other award winners will be announced at the 45th BPG Awards lunch at Banking Hall in the City on Friday March 15th 2019. Winners have been informed in advance and places at the lunch are by invitation only. A full news release about the winners, embargoed till 12 noon on Friday, will be available.

The Broadcasting Press Guild was founded in 1974 and has more than a hundred members. They are journalists who specialise in covering television, radio and the media, and include critics, previewers, media correspondents and feature writers from national newspapers, broadcasters and leading trade journals and websites.

Harvey Lee (1950-1991) was the media correspondent for the Daily Telegraph and a leading light in the BPG throughout the 1980s. Previous winners of the BPG’s Harvey Lee Award, for an outstanding contribution to broadcasting, include Sir Lenny Henry, John Humphrys, John Lloyd, Sir Terry Wogan, Cilla Black, Melvyn Bragg, Andrew Davies, Sir David Frost, Michael Grade, Norma Percy, Biddy Baxter & Edward Barnes, Phil Redmond, Beryl Vertue, Tony Warren, Anne Wood and Charles Wheeler. See more details at http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/bpgawards/harvey-lee/.

The 2019 BPG Awards are sponsored by Virgin Media, which offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline. Its interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones. It launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland. Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, with operations in more than 30 countries. www.virginmedia.com/tv

Further information from Torin Douglas, BPG: torindouglas@aol.com or 07860 422992

The former Labour leader Ed Miliband has been recognised in a new role at this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, voted for by journalists who write about TV and radio. His podcast with Geoff Lloyd, Reasons to be Cheerful, has been named as the BPG Podcast of the Year, a new award marking the growing influence of the latest audio formats.

A headline-grabbing interview with the current Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn during last year’s election campaign helped Emma Barnett win the prize for BPG Radio Broadcaster of the Year. Interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, Mr Corbyn forgot details of a major policy announcement.

And in a year when women featured strongly in the BPG awards, Dame Hilary Mantel’s series of BBC Reith Lectures became Radio Programme of the Year.

The 44th BPG awards lunch, sponsored by Virgin TV, is taking place today at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. (Full list of winners below). The BPG Awards – given only for work commissioned in the UK – are highly prized by programme-makers because they are selected independently by TV and radio correspondents, critics and previewers.

Caroline Frost, BPG Chair, said: “These Awards are unique because they are the only ones voted for by people whose job it is to write about TV and radio for a living. After 44 years, our Guild continues to evolve in line with the ever-changing broadcasting landscape and this year we’ll be recognising for the first time our Podcast of the Year. In choosing our winners, we argue fiercely about what’s popular and what’s ambitious, what’s progressive and what’s truly original and we’ve honoured these requirements in our list of very worthy winners.

“It’s been an extraordinary year in entertainment, not just in the quality on-screen but in some of the controversies and scandals that have been uncovered away from it – and the British broadcasting industry has not gone un-marked. One thing we have to do today is give recognition to the BBC women, and all those who have put their heads above the parapet in pursuit of fair treatment, not just for themselves but for all women across the business.”

Claire Foy was named Best Actress for her role in the second series of The Crown (Netflix), which also won the award for Best Online First /Streaming production. It was revealed this week that she had been paid less for the series than her co-star Matt Smith.

Mark Bonnar was named Best Actor for a string of high-profile roles, including Unforgotten, Eric, Ernie and Me, Catastrophe and Apple Tree Yard. He can currently be seen in the latest series of Shetland on BBC One.

The edge-of-the-seat police series Line of Duty (BBC One) was named Best Drama Series, and its creator Jed Mercurio won the award for Best Writer. ThreeGirls, the three-part BBC One drama based on the true stories of victims of grooming and sexual abuse in Rochdale, was named Best Single Drama/Mini-series.

Blue Planet II (BBC One) was named Best Documentary Series and Chris Packham: Aspergers and Me (BBC Two) won the award for Best Single Documentary. Sir David Attenborough and Chris Packham will both be attending the lunch to receive their awards.

The annual Harvey Lee Award for an Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting was given to the children’s television producers Biddy Baxter and Edward Barnes, in special recognition of Blue Peter, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year. The citation says: “For creating the ‘new’ Blue Peter in the early 1960s alongside the late Rosemary Gill. The involvement of its audience was ground-breaking, giving every child the opportunity to make a valuable contribution to the programme, to become involved in charity fund-raising and win a coveted Blue Peter badge. Blue Peter unleashed the power and potential of children’s television and 60 years on has created some of its most memorable moments.”

The BPG Award for Innovation went to Channel 4 for its latest advances in championing diversity both on and off screen. These include initiatives such as Spotlight on Directors and diversity throughout its commissioning – in programmes such as Ackley Bridge, The Last Leg and its 50 Shades of Gay season – and in its advertising. The citation says: “Channel 4 has built on its pioneering Paralympics coverage to embrace the wider community and has demonstrated a first-in-class commitment to its public service broadcasting remit”. The award will be accepted by Channel Four’s chief executive Alex Mahon.

Channel Four also won the award for Best Entertainment/Factual Entertainment category, with its first series of The Great British Bake Off, which it controversially lured from BBC One. Judge Prue Leith will attend the lunch to receive the award. Detectorists (BBC Four) was named Best Comedy and its writer-performer Mackenzie Crook will pick up the award with his co-star Toby Jones.

The Trip to Spain (Sky Atlantic), featuring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon on the latest stage of their culinary travels, won the award for Best Multichannel (non-PSB) programme. Its writer-director, the renowned British film maker Michael Winterbottom, will receive the award.

The BBC Reith Lectures 2017, given by the double Booker Prize winner Dame Hilary Mantel, exploring the challenges and legitimacy of historical fiction, won the award for BPG Radio Programme of the Year. The award will be collected by Sue Lawley, who presents the series.

The other two audio awards, for Radio Broadcaster of the Year and Podcast of the Year, celebrated the discussion of politics, and will be received at the lunch by Emma Barnett, Ed Miliband and his co-presenter Geoff Lloyd.

Torin Douglas, chair of the radio jury, said: “Emma Barnett, our Radio Broadcaster of the Year, hit the headlines during and after the general election campaign, when she interviewed Jeremy Corbyn and Teresa May and coaxed memorable reactions from both of them. The Labour leader’s inability to answer her questions on a major policy announcement was widely labelled a ‘car crash’ and the Prime Minister’s admission that ‘she shed a little tear’ after she heard the exit poll result was also picked up by every newspaper.

“Ed Miliband, who with Geoff Lloyd won the BPG’s first Podcast of the Year award, has found a new role since stepping down as Labour leader. After standing in for Jeremy Vine on Radio 2, where he segued brilliantly from flushing toilets to the universal basic income, he now presents a ‘podcast about ideas’ which one of our judges said was like listening to the Today programme without the egos running rampant over the interviewees”.

The Broadcasting Press Guild was founded in 1974 and has more than 120 members. They are journalists who specialise in covering television, radio and the media, and include critics, previewers, media correspondents and feature writers from national newspapers, broadcasters and leading trade journals and websites.

The invitation-only event in the Grand Saloon of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is sponsored by Virgin TV and attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. Details of the nominations, previous BPG awards and Virgin TV can be found at http://broadcastingpressguild.org, together with pictures, videos and a history of the Guild.

Harvey Lee – in honour of whom our Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting Award is named – was a leading light of the BPG, who died at the tragically early age of 41. The award for outstanding achievement has been given in his memory every year since every year since 1992. Previous winners are named on our website: http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/bpgawards/harvey-lee/

This year’s BPG Awards are sponsored by Virgin TV. Virgin TV is part of Virgin Media, which offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline. Its interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones. It launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland. Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, with operations in more than 30 countries. www.virginmedia.com/tv

For more information about the Broadcasting Press Guild, please contact:

Quirky comedies Detectorists and Inside No. 9 go head to head in the shortlists for this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild (BPG) Awards, chosen by esteemed TV and radio journalists. Both series have been nominated as Best Comedy with writer-performers Mackenzie Crook (Detectorists, BBC Four), Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton (Inside No. 9, BBC Two) also shortlisted for the Best Writer award. They are joined on the shortlist by Jed Mercurio (Line of Duty) and Peter Morgan (The Crown).

The BPG Awards – which are for work commissioned in the UK and screened in 2017 – are highly prized by programme-makers because they are selected independently by TV and radio correspondents, critics and previewers. The 44th annual BPG awards, sponsored by Virgin TV, will be held at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Friday March 16th 2018.

Line of Duty, Peaky Blinders (both BBC Two), The State (C4) and Tin Star (Sky Atlantic) are shortlisted for best TV drama series. Eric, Ernie and Me, Little Women and Three Girls will compete with Sky 1’s Delicious 2 for the Best Single Drama/Mini-series award.

Two BBC Two documentaries – Chris Packham: Aspergers and Me and Sgt Pepper’s Musical Revolution – have been nominated as Best Single Documentary, alongside Idris Elba: Fighter (Discovery) and Old People’s Home For 4 Year Olds (Channel 4).

In the Best Entertainment/Factual Entertainment category, three previous winners – The Great British Bake Off (now on Channel Four), The Graham Norton Show and Strictly Come Dancing (both BBC One) – will be competing with Taskmaster (Dave). The Best Comedy award will be contested by Detectorists (BBC Four), Inside No. 9 (BBC Two), Peter Kay’s Car Share (BBC iPlayer, BBC One) and The Trip to Spain (Sky Atlantic).

The BPG is again recognising the growing importance of programmes commissioned for streaming or showing online first, instead of on a broadcast channel, with The Best Online First/Streaming award.This year it will be contested by The Crown and Black Mirror (both Netflix), End of the F***ing World (ALL4, Channel 4) and People Just Do Nothing (BBC Three).

The Best of Multichannel (non-PSB) Award will go to one of the four non-PSB programmes shortlisted in drama, documentaries, comedy and entertainment.

The nominations for the annual BPG award for innovation in broadcasting are: Albert – the free online tool for calculating a production’s carbon footprint; BBC Three – for showcasing new comedy talent; and Channel 4 – for recent innovations in championing diversity both on and off screen.

The 44th annual BPG awards, sponsored by Virgin TV, will be presented at an awards lunch held at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Friday March 16th 2018. The event will be attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. The Company said: “Virgin TV is delighted to be sponsoring the Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 2018. Together we’re celebrating the TV people love.” For more information about Virgin TV visit www.virginmedia.com/tv

Further information from Torin Douglas, BPG, 07860 422992

Notes to editors:

The winners will be announced at the 44th BPG Awards lunch in the beautifully restored Theatre Royal Drury Lane on Friday March 16th 2018, sponsored by Virgin TV. The Harvey Lee Award for outstanding contribution to broadcasting, which is in the gift of the BPG Executive Committee, will also be presented. Winners will be informed in advance and places at the lunch are by invitation only.

Virgin TV is part of Virgin Media, which offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline. Its interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones. It launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland. Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, connecting over 22 million customers through operations in 12 countries across Europe. www.virginmedia.com/tv

The shortlists for Radio Broadcaster of the Year and Radio Programme of the Year will be announced in a week’s time.

The Broadcasting Press Guild was founded in 1974 and has more than a hundred members. They are journalists who specialise in covering television, radio and the media, and include critics, previewers, media correspondents and feature writers from national newspapers, broadcasters and leading trade journals and websites.

After a great year for TV drama, The Night Manager, The Crown, National Treasure, The Witness for The Prosecution, Line of Duty, The Durrells and The Missing have all been recognised at this year’s Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, voted for by journalists who write about TV and radio.

Caroline Frost, BPG Chair, said: “In a year where drama continued to electrify and surprise TV audiences, and prove itself still capable of water-cooler moments, there was huge competition for all of our drama awards.”

The 43rd BPG awards lunch, sponsored by Virgin TV, is taking place today at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. (Full list of winners below)

Keeley Hawes was named Best Actress for her roles in three hit drama series – Line of Duty (BBC Two), The Durrells (ITV) and The Missing (BBC One). She will receive her award at today’s lunch.

Caroline Frost said “She is someone who, through her diverse choice of roles, her knack of picking scripts that become must-see TV drama for huge audiences and her willingness to bring vulnerability as well as power to screen, continues to surprise and delight us with every fresh project.”

The Night Manager (BBC One) was named Best Drama Series, and two of its stars, Hugh Laurie and Tom Hollander, will receive the award. The Crown (Netflix) won the award for Best Online First/Streaming and the Agatha Christie play TheWitness for the Prosecution (BBC One) was named Best Single Drama. Robbie Coltrane was named Best Actor for National Treasure (Channel 4).

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, actress and writer of the comedy series Fleabag (BBC Three, then BBC Two) was named Best Writer, and will attend the lunch. Mum (BBC Two) won the award for Best Comedy and its star Lesley Manville will receive the award.

The BPG Awards – given only for work commissioned in the UK – are highly prized by programme-makers because they are selected independently by TV and radio correspondents, critics and previewers.

Planet Earth II (BBC One) was named Best Documentary Series and Hillsborough (BBC Two) won the award for Best Single Documentary. The annual BPG Award for Innovation went to Exodus: Our Journey in Europe (BBC Two) for the innovative use of mobile phones and crowd-sourced content to tell a compelling story.

The award for Best Entertainment programme went to BBC One’s The Graham Norton Show, and Alan Partridge: Mid Morning Matters (Sky Atlantic) won the award for Best Multichannel (non-PSB) programme.

In its 75th anniversary year, Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs, presented by Kirsty Young, was named Radio Programme of the Year.

Maisie McCabe, chair of the radio jury, said “Even by its high standards, 2016 was a particularly strong year for Desert Island Discs. Guests included the CEO of Lloyd’s of London talking about her sexuality, Bruce Springsteen reminiscing about hearing The Beatles for the first time and Bill Gates on Steve Jobs. And all stewarded by a supremely talented broadcaster, who knows what questions to ask and when to let her guests speak.”

LBC’s James O’Brien was named Radio Broadcaster of the Year.

Maisie McCabe said: “In a year that seemed to bring us at least a decade’s worth of major news events, James spoke honestly and compassionately about the major issues of the day, not only providing brilliant live radio for his listeners, but reaching a whole new audience online, as people shared his remarks and debated them on social media.”

The Harvey Lee award for an Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting, which is in the gift of the BPG executive committee, has gone to the documentary filmmaker and producer Norma Percy. She has persuaded a who’s who of world leaders to be interviewed for revelatory series such as The Death of Yugoslavia, The Second Russian Revolution and Inside Obama’s White House. She has been responsible, with Brian Lapping, for many other award-winning documentaries made by Brook Lapping, including The Iraq War, Putin, Russia & The West, Iran & The West, The Fall of Milosevic, Endgame in Ireland, and Elusive Peace: Israel & The Arabs.

The Broadcasting Press Guild was founded in 1974 and has more than 120 members. They are journalists who specialise in covering television, radio and the media, and include critics, previewers, media correspondents and feature writers from national newspapers, broadcasters and leading trade journals and websites.

The invitation-only event in the Grand Saloon of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is sponsored by Virgin TV and attended by the winners, BPG members and leading broadcasting executives. Details of the nominations, previous BPG awards and Virgin TV can be found at http://broadcastingpressguild.org, together with pictures, videos and a history of the Guild.

Harvey Lee – in honour of whom our Outstanding Contribution to Broadcasting Award is named – was a leading light of the BPG, who died at the tragically early age of 41. The award for outstanding achievement has been given in his memory every year since every year since 1992. Previous winners are named on our website: http://www.broadcastingpressguild.org/bpgawards/harvey-lee/

This year’s BPG Awards are sponsored by Virgin TV. Virgin TV is part of Virgin Media, which offers four multi award-winning services across the UK and Ireland: broadband, TV, mobile phone and landline. Its interactive TV service brings live programmes, thousands of hours of on-demand programming and the best apps and games in a set-top box, as well as on-the-go for tablets and smartphones. It launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and is also one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the UK and Ireland. Virgin Media is part of Liberty Global, the world’s largest international cable company, with operations in more than 30 countries. www.virginmedia.com/tv

For more information about the Broadcasting Press Guild, please contact:

The Witness for the Prosecution
A Mammoth Screen & Agatha Christie Productions production for BBC One, in association with A+E Networks & RLJ Entertainment

Best Drama Series

The Night Manager

Produced by The Ink Factory, Demarest Films & Character 7 for BBC One in co-production with AMC.

Best Single Documentary

Hillsborough

A VeryMuchSo & Passion Pictures production for BBC Two

Best Documentary Series

Planet Earth II

A BBC Studios Natural History Unit Production, co-produced with BBC America, ZDF, Tencent & France Television for BBC One

Best Entertainment

The Graham Norton Show

A So Television production for BBC One

Best Online First/Streaming

The Crown

Produced by Left Bank Pictures, a Sony Pictures TV Company, for Netflix

Best Comedy

Mum

A Big Talk Production in association with The Money Men for BBC Two

Radio Broadcaster of the Year

James O’Brien

A Global production for LBC

Radio Programme of the Year

Desert Island Discs, presented by Kirsty Young

A BBC Factual Radio Production for BBC Radio 4

Best Actor

Robbie Coltrane for National Treasure (Channel 4)

Best Actress

Keeley Hawes – for Line of Duty (BBC Two), The Durrells (ITV) and The Missing (BBC One)

Best Writer
Phoebe Waller-Bridge for Fleabag

A Two Brothers Pictures Production for BBC Three

Innovation Award

Exodus: Our Journey to Europe

For innovative use of crowd-sourced content & camera phones, including first-person points of view from refugees themselves to tell a compelling story about the migrant crisis
A Keo Films production for BBC Two

The documentary filmmaker and producer Norma Percy, who has persuaded a who’s who of world leaders to be interviewed for revelatory series such as The Death of Yugoslavia, The Second Russian Revolution and Inside Obama’s White House, is to be honoured later this week by journalists who write about broadcasting for a living. [Read more…]